Ripple effect

We have all been gripped by the drama of nature today as that massive earthquake spawned a tsunami that has marched from the shores of South America, clear across the Pacific Ocean.

It is hard to imagine an earthquake in Chile could trigger warning sirens in Hawaii. With the grim memories of the horror I witnessed in Port-au-Prince last month, it is also hard to imagine any quake could be more powerful than that one. Today's 8.8 magnitude quake in Chile unleashed roughly 500 times more energy than the one that rocked Haiti.